Apparatus for starting automobile-engines.



R. E. GUTIG.

' APPARATUS FOR STARTING AUTOMOBILE ENGINES.

APPLIOATIOH FILED arm. 11, 1000.

WITNESSES I W6; Mew; vM

Patented Jan. 24, 1911.

' the engine in the hood in front and is ordi-.

Louisville. in the county of Jefferson and and the objects of my improvementare, to

ROBERT E. GUTIG, OI LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY.

Specification of Letters Patent.

APPARATUS FOR STARTING AUTOMOBILE-ENGINES.

Patented Jan. 24, 1911.

Application filed September 17. 1909. Serial No. 518,282.

, To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, llomcn'r l l.(lu'r1c, a citizen of the United States, residing at State of Kentucky, have invented-a new and useful Apparatus for Starting Autonfobile-Engines, of which the following is a pecification.

7 This invention relates to apparatus for cranking gasolene engines of automobiles,

provide means by which the engine may be cranked from the chauffeufls seat, to provide means by which the engine may be started with the exertion of comparatively little strength, so that this may be accomplished by ladies and others with little physical strength; to provide means by which the cranking means automatically released upon the engines back-firing, so as to avoid the danger of injury to the operator; simplicity of construction and 'operation; and to provide apparatus of the class described which may be readily applied to automobiles of conventional construction. These objects I attain by means of the mechanism illustrated in the accoi'npanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation, Fig. 2, a bottom plan view; Fig. 3, a detail side elevation, partly in section, of the parts applied innnediatcly to the engine; Fig. 4, a detail view of the ratchet-gear: and Fi 5 is a dctail view of the ratchet-gear, slowing the pawl disengaged as the result of back-firing.

Similar reference numerals refer to similar p. rts throughout the several views of the drawings.

The apparatus embodying my invention is shown in the drawings as applied to a conventional type of automobile, 1, which has narily provided with a crank in front, at 2," and a clutch, for starting the engine. On the side of the chassis, 3, in front of the chaufl'eurs seat, 4, is placed a lever, 5, pivoted or fulcrumed at 6, where it will be in easy reach of the chauffeur, 'and inclined forward, so as to be entirely out of the way. This arrangement of the lever also gives the operator :1 good purchase.

A connecting-rod, 7, is attached to lever 5 at a point, 8, at a suitable distance above the fulcrum 6 and extends forward, where its opposite end is connected at 9 to a bellcrank lever, 10, or similar means for chang- I a stud, 1."),

ing the direction of force. fulcrumed to the chassis at 11. A second connecting-rod, 12, is attached to lever 10 and extends across toward the engine shaft. 13. Here one end 0 of connecting-rod 12 is pivotally attached to a lever or crank-arm, 17L which is pivoted to secured to the front part of the chassis in a bracket, 16, in front of and in q alinement with the engine shaft 13. On the front end of the engine shaft is secured a ratchet-wheel, 17, between the engine and the crank arm 14. It will now be understood that whcn lever 5 is moved back and forth c'ank arm 14 is oscillated. Crankarm 14 is provided with a pawl, 18, pivoted suitably to engage the teeth of ratchet-wheel 1T. 'Pawl 18 is pressed into engagement with the ratchet-wheel 17 by a spring 21. Thus pawl 18 is adapted to engage ratchetwheel 17 and turn the engine shaft 15 forard when crank arm 14 is moved forward. and means is thus provided for cranking" the engine.

Many casualties have occurred through starting gas engines with the ordinary crank, on account of the engine back-firing.

To avoid this I have provided means for releasing the manipulating means upon the backward motion of the engine shaft due to back-firing. This I have accomplished preferably by means of the stationary ratchet-i uadrant. 22. secured on bracket In, between the bracket tllltllltlllli-Hl'lll 14. secondary pawl, 23, is pivoted on pawl 18 toward its free end with stud 24 arranged to stand normally at right angles to pawl 18.

It is held normally in this position by a sprin 25, pressin against a stud, 26, secure in itself, anc a stop-stud, 27, secured to pawl 18. A notch, 28, is provided in quadrant 22, where the teeth ofthe quadrant are cut away so as to allow pawl 23 to drop in and ermit tooth 20 of pawl 18 to engage the teetli of ratchetwvheel 17. The rear wall of notch 28 forms an inclined plane, 29, and the front wall 30 is radial, relative to the circumference of the quadrant.

In Fig. 4, arm 14 is shown in such a osi- .tion that pawl 23 has dropped into note 28 and pawl 18 is engaging the ratchet-wheel 17.

It will be understood that if arm 14 is moved backward or toward the right a little farther than shown, which is its normal position when lever 5 is thrown forward and is out offuse, pawl 23 will ride up inclined plane 29 and raise pawl 18 out of engagemeat with the ratchet-wheel. This avoids continual rattling which would occur if tooth 2O rested continually upon the teeth of the ratchet-wheel while the engine is running. But as soon as arm 14 is turned forward a little, the heel of pawl 23 rides down inclined plane 29 and tooth 20 of pawl 18 engages the teeth of the ratchetnvheel. If the operator now continues to'pull upon lever 5, arm 14 continues to swing forward, and the hit... of pawl 23 engages wall 80 of the quadrant and is folded back to the position shown in the dotted lines in Fig. 4, so that it clicks forward over the teeth of quadrant 22, leaving tooth 20 in engagement with ratchet vheel 17. Should the engine backfire during this operation, arm 14 would be turned backward slightly. Pawl 23 would immediately engage one of the teeth of the quadrant be raised thereby to, the vertical position shown in Fig. 5, and pawl 18 would be lifted out of engagement- With the ratchetwheel. 'Pawl 23 would now be free to slide back and forth over the tops of the teeth of quadrant 22 Without engaging them until arm 14. is thrown backto the limit of its backward motion where pawl 23 may drop into notch 28. It will thus be understood that when the engine back-fires, lever 5 is moved backward just a little and all danger from the back stroke is obviated, and the operator cannot cause tooth 20 to engage the ratchet-wheel by continuing to pull forward on lever 5, but he must first throw the lever back fully to the limit of its backward stroke before he can make another effort to start the engine.

struction ofvarious makes of automobiles, and I have thus described my invention so that any one skilled in the art pertaining thereto may readily construct and apply it and any one of ordinary intelligence will be able to operate it.

- I claim-- I 1. In apparatus of the class described, the combination, with an engine shaft, a driving ratchet wheel fixed on said engine shaft, alever, and a driving pawl mounted on Sfild' lever, of a stationary ratchet quadrant, a releasing pawl formed with a' concave heel adapted to slide over the teeth of said stationary ratchet quadrant and to hold said driving pawl free from said drivingratchet wheel mounted on said driving pawl.

2. In apparatus for starting engines, the combination, with an engine shaft, and a driving ratchet wheel fixed on said engine shaft, of a driving pawl, a releasing pawl mounted on said driving pawl, a stationary releasing ratchet.quadrant, said releasing ratchet quadrant being formed with a start ing notch to permit said driving pawl to bite, and said releasing pawl being provided with means for holding said driving ratchet out of engage ment with said driving ratchet wheel while moving in either direction till returned to said starting notch.

3. In apparatus of the class'deseribed, an engine shaft, a ratchet wheel mounted on and adapted to turn said engine shaft forward, in combination with a driving pawl adapted to engage said ratchet wheel in the forward direction and provided with a stop, a stationary ratchet quadrant having its teeth inclined oppositely to-those of said ratchet wheel on the engine shaft and provided with a notch, and a releasing pawl mounted on said driving pawl, resting normally against said stop and provided with a bit and a, concaved heel which is adapted to slide over the tops of the teeth of said ratchet quadrant.

ROBERT E. GU'IIG.

Witnesses H. Nannie KnArtr, HENRY J. Fnnrrz. 

